Cognitive Dissonance Is Making Your Life Hard As F@&%

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade ……..

This is a proverbial phrase to encourage optimism; making a sour situation into a better one. This type of thought process is the best way to handle situations in work, relationships and life in general.

To follow this phrase is almost ideal for everyone, but tough when you suffer from cognitive dissonance(CD). Do not fret; this is no disease. However, it is a mental conflict that occurs when your beliefs do not line up with your actions.

Cognitive Dissonance- noun. the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

People who suffer from cognitive dissonance willingly stuff their own mouth with a sour taste after saying they hate the taste of lemons.

In other words, cognitive dissonance is the equivalence of displaying contradictory values and leads to shooting yourself in the foot.

CD only causes pain and an imbalance in your moral compass. Could you imagine having morals and beliefs that you strongly believe in, but find yourself doing the complete opposite?

Example:(See the article Normalized Cut-Throat Business Persona Explained)

Normalized Cut-Throat Business Persona Explained

CD is seen plenty of times in high leadership roles where someone is forced to display an “Over The Top Tough Skin” or be a BLANK. Nobody wants to be a BLANK. Some individuals would admit to never being one. Cognitive dissonance can also lead to delusion and self-pity for actions that a person displays that are, “not like them”. This here is an issue, CD can cause a person to not be their true selves.

It is unfortunate that due to normalization of having a tough persona in business, an individual is found displaying behavior and actions that they would never consider doing otherwise. Here is a Chart for what cognitive dissonance can lead to:

Do you see? Where is going against your beliefs or morals get you? You are not making lemonade, you are only shoving that sour lemon right back in your mouth. Take a step back and make sure your beliefs align with your beliefs; not anyone else's. It is very easy to be persuaded or forced into displaying action from another person who has different view points from you.

My best advice is….